Tuscaloosa County Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Cyberstalking

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Tuscaloosa man has been sentenced for threatening and cyberstalking his ex-girlfriend, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge James DeLoatch.

U.S. District Court Judge Annmarie Axon sentenced Kenneth Peter Hoover, 27, to 37 months in prison. In November, Hoover pleaded guilty to interstate threatening communications and cyberstalking.

According to the plea agreement, on January 22, 2024, the FBI National Threat Operations Center received an online tip concerning a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, by a user who was later identified as Hoover. In the posts, Hoover threatened to assault and kill his ex-girlfriend.  After the Tuscaloosa Police Department was notified of the posts, officers contacted the victim and secured safe housing for her. A few days later, a Tuscaloosa Police officer initiated a traffic stop on Hoover. The officer ordered Hoover to exit the vehicle, but Hoover refused to follow the officer’s orders. After several unsuccessful attempts to remove Hoover from the vehicle, additional officers responded to the scene and successfully placed Hoover into custody. The investigation determined that Hoover had used Apple iMessage, Snapchat, and Venmo to harass and intimidate the victim, sending threatening and violent messages with the intent to injure, harass, or intimidate her.

FBI Birmingham Division investigated the case along with the Tuscaloosa Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case.